Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I warmly welcome the tabling of the motion which has received cross-party support. I thank all of the contributors to the debate so far. I have noted all of the points made and can assure Senators that in terms of the ongoing work we are doing, they will be taken into consideration.

I am glad to have the opportunity to outline the position of the Government on the availability and misuse of alcohol. The debate is timely because there is widespread concern about the misuse of alcohol. We have reached the point where everybody recognises that it is a serious national problem and that it is time we did something effective and comprehensive about it. I am heartened by the number of conferences held in recent times and the manner in which they have contributed to a public debate on the issue. People realise we cannot continue as we are, that alcohol is doing serious damage to society - to individuals, families and communities. There is a strong view among the public that it is time to stop and take a more mature and sensible approach to alcohol and face up to what become a national problem.

We have been dealing with a significant increase in the number of outlets selling alcohol. A relaxation of the licensing law resulted in alcohol being available on every street corner, in every filling station, supermarket and convenience store. The widespread availability of alcohol is a key factor in terms of its abuse. We need to deal with this proliferation of outlets because if we do not and we ignore the body of evidence that suggests this is a key factor in the abuse of alcohol, we will merely be putting our heads in the sand.

Irish adults drink in a more dangerous way than adults in any other country, a fact that requires further consideration. A number of Senators have spoken about our psychological difficulties with alcohol, on which I would like to see research done. Whether it is alcohol abuse, drug abuse or the abuse of prescription drugs, we seem to be top of the league. While such elements as availability and price are a factor, there are underlying reasons for this which I would like to see researched. I do not know whether it is that we have an inferiority complex, whether it is something about the Irish psyche or our history, but for some reason we do not seem to be able to handle alcohol as well as people in similar countries.

Irish adults drank almost 12 litres of pure alcohol per capita last year - a volume that would be elevated further if one took into consideration that approximately 20% of the population do not drink alcohol. The average per alcohol drinker is even higher. Ultimately, 1.5 million Irish drinkers drink in a harmful way. That is an extraordinary statistic, given that the population is approximately 4.5 million. Data from relevant surveys indicate that the average age of first alcohol use among children has decreased considerably. This is a worrying trend for society, particularly parents.

As I commented during the week at another event, parents need to consider why their children are drinking so much. One of items we need to address is that we, as parents, may not be giving our children the best example. We are too used to having alcohol at the centre of our lives; it is part of every occasion and family celebration. As adults, we need to consider this not alone in terms of the damage we are doing to our own health but also in terms of the example we are giving to young people.

There is also a phenomenon, whereby many adults facilitate young people in drinking. There are concerns about young people drinking on the local green or in the park. Because of that concern, parents sometimes facilitate the abuse of alcohol by their children in their homes. In addition, there is also ambivalence about parents being worried in case their children get involved in drugs and saying, "At least, it is not drugs; it is only alcohol." That is a misguided attitude to take.

All of these issues need to be addressed and we all are guilty of failing in that regard. It is time for us all to consider these issues.

The point has been made by a number of speakers that this is a problem for all us within Irish society. It is easy to think it is a problem which affects the marginalised, for example, certain minority communities. It is not. It is one for all of us in Irish society and one we need to address on the basis of a whole-of-population approach. We need to look at how we can break the cultural link between us as Irish people and alcohol.

One must bear in mind that alcohol is no ordinary commodity. For that reason, it is important when it is being sold in outlets that it be displayed in a way that recognises the potential dangers involved. I am really concerned that, increasingly, there is an in-your-face display of alcohol when one goes into a corner shop, filling station or supermarket. It is often difficult to avoid the high stacks of alcohol just inside the door. We cannot regard it in the same way as bread, milk or butter. It is a potentially dangerous commodity. For that reason, I would like to see a much greater level of separation between alcohol and other products in retail outlets.

Cost is a key factor in the abuse of alcohol. The cost here is high, certainly in pubs. People often ask, since its cost is higher than in many other countries, how come other European countdries do not have a problem to the same extent. We have a cultural problem with alcohol. Bearing this in mind, where cheap alcohol is available, particularly if the price declines constantly, this poses real problems for us in terms of an increasing volume of consumption across the population. This is particularly true in the case of vulnerable groups, including young people.

The question of a minimum price of alcohol is an important one. Personally, I am committed to acting on this issue. I am still awaiting legal advice and there is an indication that there might be legal hurdles to get over. However, I am heartened by developments in Scotland which is leading the way in this regard. In the past two weeks legislation has been published there. I have looked at some of the legal advice received and hope it will help us in approaching this issue. I am also conscious of the need for us to work closely with the authorities in Northern Ireland. To this end, I hope to meet the Minister, Mr. Poots, MLA, in the next couple of months. We must all row in behind the issue of a minimum price as one of the important planks in addressing the misuse of alcohol.

It is not my intention or that of the Government to penalise those who drink alcohol in moderation or who enjoy a bottle of wine at the weekend or a few cans of beer while watching a match. Nobody is out to stop such enjoyment, as all of us enjoy alcohol. There is nothing wrong with this where it is enjoyed in moderation. Alcohol has its place with a nice meal. However, the reality is that for too many in this country the volumes being consumed are at hazardous levels. It is doing much damage, in particular to young people, and we need to address this.

The point was made that we do not want to target people on low incomes. The reality is that we all pay a very high price for alcohol abuse in this country. A figure of €3.7 billion was mentioned by a number of speakers. This is the economic cost of alcohol abuse and everybody pays this through their taxes and additional charges. We are not getting any great bargains with regard to alcohol. We all pay a very high economic price for it.

It is also important to point out that in the price war going on at present, the big supermarkets in particular use alcohol as a loss leader. Recently, a supermarket was selling two bottles of red wine for €5 where this €5 does not even cover the cost of the excise duty or VAT, so the supermarket was taking a hit. This is the scenario with which we are faced. Alcohol is being used as a loss leader to attract people into shops. This means the big multiples must recoup this loss elsewhere which results in higher prices for groceries and other products in the supermarket. Therefore, it is no bargain and it is a false economy to think people are getting a bargain when they buy alcohol. This is the thinking behind moving on a minimum price. The point was also made that it is very difficult to detect what is below cost selling because of the level of discounting that takes place in the big multiples. This is why we must think in terms of the minimum price per gram of alcohol in addition to excise duty and VAT. This is the approach I would very much like to take and it is the right way to go.

It is very important that we are clear about alcohol misuse in this country and what it does. Alcohol is responsible for almost 100 deaths per month, and one in four deaths in young men were estimated to be due to alcohol. Compare this with one in 12 deaths due to cancer or one in 25 due to cardiovascular disease. We are at a point where it is not acceptable that young people should die of cancer. We do not accept this and yet far greater numbers of young people die as a result of alcohol abuse than from many of the other main diseases.

Alcohol is a contributory factor in half of all suicides and in deliberate self-harm. It also increases the risk of more than 60 medical conditions including several cancers. It is associated with 2,000 beds being occupied every night in Irish acute hospitals. It is responsible for one quarter of injuries presenting to accident and emergency departments and more than half of attendances in 2008 to specialised addiction treatment centres. It is associated with a range of disorders known as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders because of mothers drinking during pregnancy. It is a factor in many unplanned pregnancies.

Alcohol increases the risk of children needing special care, with the World Health Organization estimating that adult alcohol problems are associated with 16% of child abuse cases. Alcohol was a trigger in one third of domestic abuse cases. It is related to illness and costs the health service €1.2 billion, and the cost of alcohol-related crime is estimated to be approximately €1.2 billion. The cost of lost economic output due to alcohol was estimated to be almost €500 million in 2007. In addition, alcohol-related road accidents also cost approximately €500 million.

I was interested to see a conference was held last week on the impact of alcohol in the business community. I hope we can move towards a situation where there will be much greater leadership in this regard from the business community. We should not accept this is part of who we are and that a business must factor into costs a certain level of absenteeism or, to use the other term used at the conference last week, "presenteeism", which is where workers are present at work but they are not conscious of what is going on or up to the job because of their alcohol abuse.